Facing Redemption by Kimberly McKay

never was one to sit still, she needed somewhere to go everyday.  She’d always wanted to have her own art space, and now here she sat amidst canvases and paint in a huge room all to herself.  Some days she had to pinch herself to see if it was real.
    Her eyes immediately lit on her prize piece from Venice.  She painted it the day after Timothy left from his weekend visit in Italy.  She called it ‘Port of Love.’ 
    It showed a couple, from behind, sitting at the end of the dock, where nearby gondolas were tied up.  Their heads were close as if in intimate conversation.  Shades of dark and light depicted a very dreamy but emotional scene as the beauty of the water and dock surrounded and pulled you in toward the couple.  Their arms were wound around one another, as if one might leave at any moment. 
    The painting depicted Timothy and Chastity’s last day before his flight back to the states.  That morning they both sat at the end of the dock, with their feet in the water.  They didn’t speak much.  They didn’t have to.  It was all she could do to keep from crying at the thought of not spending more time with him.  That’s when it hit her … how hard she’d fallen.  That’s when she knew he had her heart, and even though she never told him, she felt he knew. 
    That last morning before he left, their unspoken words were louder than anything else could have been.  And when he left, they promised to spend as much time together as possible when she returned.  It’s when they made the decision to live in the same town so they could move their relationship to the next level … whatever that level may be.
    Chastity looked up when she heard her studio door creak open.
    “Hello!  I have your soup and salad Madame Artist!”  Anne said with a bow.
    “Whatever chica!  Get in here.  I’m starved.”
    “Feel like company? I brought enough for two.”
    “Of course!”  Chastity grinned and grabbed Anne for a hug.  “I love that I can hang out with you at any time.”
    “For how long?  You’re heading to the other part of the world you know!  What are you going to do with your space?”
    “I know … I’m sad that this won’t be for long,” she sighed and crossed the room. “But I’m selling it to one of Julia’s newest colleagues.  She said she had a friend that was moving to Silver Lake.  You know property around here isn’t too hard to find a buyer for – even in this economy.”
    Anne’s eyes lit up when she saw Chastity’s work from her trip.  “You know she’s chomping at the bit to get your next show scheduled.  Have you shown her this one?”  Anne asked, walking over to the painting of the couple sitting on the dock.
    “Nope.”  Chastity shook her head.  “That one’s just for me.  I’m considering giving it to Timothy.”
    “That’s a pretty big step for you Chaz.  You sure you want to let go of this one?  It’s amazing!”
    “A big step?  So is moving six hours away to be with a man!  I’d say this is nothing compared to that!”
    “Yeah, you’re right.  I bet you if you could paint this again Julia would buy it outright from you.”
    “You know it’s not like that for me.  I don’t reproduce.  It’s all about the emotion it takes to make the original.  It’s how I pour myself into my art.  If I just painted another one, it wouldn’t be worth anything.”
    “Not to you, but to someone like Julia it would.”
              Chastity gave Anne a look that left nothing to be interpreted.
    “Okay, okay!”  Anne threw up her hands.  “So what’s under the drop cloth over there?  Something I can see?”  Anne quickly ran across the room to peek.
    Chastity stopped just short of tackling her. “No! … I mean not yet.”
    Anne’s eyes widened, but she wasn’t surprised.  She knew it took time for Chastity to sort through things, and if this painting was off limits it meant she was working on something new that was a